Chapter 3304: WORKER RETRAINING

(A)
"Person with a disability" means any person with
a physical or mental impairment that is a substantial
impediment to employment who can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from
the provision of vocational rehabilitation services
.

(B)
"Physical or mental impairment" means a physical or mental condition
that materially limits, contributes to limiting or, if not corrected, will
probably result in limiting a person's activities or functioning.

(C)
"Substantial impediment to employment" means a physical or
mental disability that impedes a person's occupational performance, by
preventing the person's obtaining, retaining, or preparing for a
gainful occupation consistent with the person's capacities and abilities.

(D)
"Vocational rehabilitation" and "vocational rehabilitation services" means any
activity or service calculated to enable a person with a
disability or groups of
persons with disabilities to engage in gainful
occupation and includes, but is not limited to, medical and vocational
evaluation, including diagnostic and related services, vocational counseling,
guidance and placement, including follow-up services, rehabilitation training,
including books and other training materials, physical restoration, recruitment
and training services designed to provide persons with disabilities new employment opportunities,
maintenance, occupational tools, equipment, supplies, transportation, services
to families of persons
with
disabilities that contribute substantially to the rehabilitation of these
persons, and any other goods or service necessary to render a
person
with a disability employable.

(E)
"Establishment of a rehabilitation facility" means the expansion, remodeling,
or alteration of an existing building that is necessary to adapt or to
increase the effectiveness of that building for rehabilitation facility
purposes, the acquisition of equipment for these purposes, and the initial
staffing.

(F)
"Construction" means the construction of new buildings, acquisition of land or
existing buildings and their expansion, remodeling, alteration and renovation,
and the initial staffing and equipment of any new, newly acquired, expanded,
remodeled, altered, or renovated
buildings.

(G)
"Physical
restoration services" means those services that are
necessary to correct or substantially modify within a reasonable period of time
a physical or mental condition that is stable or slowly progressive.

(H)
"Occupational license" means any license, permit, or other written authority
required by any governmental unit in order to engage in any occupation or
business.

(I)
"Maintenance" means money payments to persons with
disabilities who need financial assistance for their subsistence during
their vocational rehabilitation.

(A)
The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint
the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
commission within the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities agency consisting of seven members, no more than four of
whom shall be members of the same political party and who shall include at
least three from rehabilitation professions, including at least one member from
the field of services to the blind, and at least four
individuals
with disabilities, no less than two nor more than
three of whom have received vocational rehabilitation services offered by a
state vocational rehabilitation agency or the veterans' administration.
The members with
disabilities shall be representative of several major categories of
persons
with disabilities served by the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency.

(B)
Terms of office shall
be for seven years, commencing on the ninth day of September and ending on the
eighth day of September, with no person eligible to serve more than two
seven-year terms. Each member shall hold office from the date of
appointment until the end of the term
for which the
member was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's
predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of
that
term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of
the
member's term until a successor takes office, or until a period of
sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. Members who fail to perform their
duties or who are guilty of misconduct may be removed on written charges
preferred by the governor or by a majority of the commission.

(C)
Members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel and necessary expenses
incurred in the conduct of their duties, and shall receive an amount fixed
pursuant to division (J) of section 124.15 of the Revised Code while actually
engaged in attendance at meetings or in the performance of their
duties.

The
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
commission shall hold its first meeting at the call of the governor, and
at that meeting, shall elect one of its members as chairperson and adopt rules governing the time and
place of regular meetings, which shall be held not less than once every four
months. Special meetings shall be held at the call of the
chairperson or any three members of the commission.
The chairperson shall serve for four years, unless removed
earlier by a majority vote of the commission, and shall be ineligible to serve
as chairperson during the succeeding four years. Each
member of the commission, before entering upon the duties of office, shall take
and subscribe an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the United States
and this state and to perform the duties of office honestly, faithfully, and
impartially. Each member shall give a bond of five thousand dollars, with a
sufficient surety approved by the treasurer of state. After approval, the bond
shall be filed with the secretary of state. If the bond is executed by a surety
company, the premiums on it shall be paid from the funds appropriated for the
expenses of the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities agency.

For the purposes of sections 3304.11 to 3304.27
of the Revised Code, the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities commission shall approve the state vocational rehabilitation plan,
jointly approve the state plan for independent living with the Ohio state
independent living council, appoint a consumer advisory committee, and, to the
extent feasible, conduct a review and analysis of the effectiveness of and
consumer satisfaction with all of the following:

(A)
The functions performed
by the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency;

(B)
The vocational rehabilitation services provided by
state agencies and other public and private entities responsible for providing
vocational rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities under the
"Rehabilitation Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 355, 29 U.S.C. 701, as
amended;

(C)
The employment outcomes achieved by
eligible individuals receiving services under sections 3304.11 to 3304.27 of
the Revised Code, including the availability of health and other employment
benefits in connection with those employment outcomes.

(A)
There is hereby created the opportunities for Ohioans
with disabilities agency. The agency is the designated state unit authorized
under the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 355, 29 U.S.C. 701, as
amended, to provide vocational rehabilitation to eligible persons with
disabilities.

(B)
The
governor shall appoint an executive director of the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency to serve at the pleasure of the governor and shall fix the
executive director's compensation. The
executive director shall devote the
executive director's entire time to the duties of the
executive director's office, shall hold no other
office or position of trust and profit, and shall engage in no other business
during the executive director's term of office. The governor
may grant the executive director the authority to appoint,
remove, and discipline without regard to sex, race, creed, color, age, or
national origin, such other professional, administrative, and clerical staff
members as are necessary to carry out the functions and duties of the
agency.

The executive director of the opportunities for Ohioans
with disabilities agency is the executive and administrative officer of the
agency. Whenever the Revised Code imposes a duty on or requires an action of
the agency, the executive director shall perform the duty or action on behalf
of the agency. The executive director may establish procedures for all of the
following:

(C)
The executive
director shall have exclusive authority to administer the daily operation
and provision of vocational rehabilitation services under this chapter.
In exercising that authority, the executive director
may do all of the following:

The executive director of the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency shall establish
administrative subdivisions as
necessary or appropriate to carry out the agency's functions and duties, but there
shall be a bureau of services for the visually impaired and a bureau of
vocational rehabilitation, each of which has as its head a
deputy director appointed by the
executive director. The
executive director shall prescribe the budgets for the
government of each division, and rules for the conduct of its employees, the
performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of the
records, papers, books, documents, and property pertaining thereto.

The
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency shall provide vocational rehabilitation services to all eligible
persons
with disabilities, including any
person
with a disability who is eligible under the terms
of an agreement or arrangement with another state or with the federal
government.

(A)
As used in this section, "OhioMeansJobs" has the same
meaning as in section
6301.01 of the Revised
Code.

(B)
Beginning January 1, 2016, each recipient of
vocational rehabilitation services provided under section
3304.17 of the Revised Code
shall create an account with OhioMeansJobs upon initiation of a job search as a
part of receiving those services.

(C)
Division (B) of this section does not apply to any
individual who is legally prohibited from using a computer, has a physical or
visual impairment that makes the individual unable to use a computer, or has a
limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand a language in which
OhioMeansJobs is available.

The treasurer of
state shall be the custodian of all moneys received from the federal government
for vocational rehabilitation programs and shall disburse the money upon the
certification of the executive director of the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency. If federal funds are
not available to the state for vocational rehabilitation purposes, the governor
shall include as part of the governor's biennial budget request to the
general assembly a request for funds sufficient to support the activities of
the agency.

If the total of all
funds available from nonfederal sources to support the activities of the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency does not comply with the expenditure requirements of 34 C.F.R.
361.60 and 361.62 for those activities or would cause the state to lose an
allotment or fail to receive a reallotment under 34 C.F.R. 361.65, the
agency may solicit additional funds from, and enter
into agreements for the use of those funds with, private or public entities,
including local government entities of this state. The
agency may continue to solicit additional funds and
enter into agreements until the total funding available is sufficient for the
agency to receive federal funds at the maximum amount
and in the most advantageous proportion possible.

Any agreement entered
into between the agency and a private or public entity to provide
funds under this section shall be in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 361.28 and
section 3304.182 of the Revised Code.

Any agreement between
the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency and a private or public entity providing funds under section
3304.181 of the Revised Code may permit the agency
to receive a specified percentage of the funds, but the percentage shall be not
more than twenty-five per cent of the total funds available under the
agreement. The agency may terminate an agreement at any time for
just cause. It may terminate an agreement for any other reason by giving at
least thirty days' notice to the public or private entity.

Any services provided
under an agreement entered into under section 3304.181 of the Revised Code
shall be provided by a person or government entity that meets the accreditation
standards established in rules adopted by the agency
under section 3304.15 of the Revised Code.

The right of a
person
with a disability to living maintenance under
sections 3304.11 to 3304.27
of the Revised Code, is not transferable or assignable at law or in equity, and
none of the money paid or payable or rights existing under this
chapter
are subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal
process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.

Any person applying
for or receiving vocational rehabilitation services who is dissatisfied with
regard to the furnishing or denial of services, may file a request for an
administrative review and redetermination of that action in accordance with
rules of the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities agency. When the person is dissatisfied with the finding of
this administrative review, the person is entitled, in accordance with
agency rules and in accordance with Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, to a fair hearing before the executive
director of the agency.

No person shall,
except for the purposes of sections 3304.11 to 3304.27 of the Revised Code, and in
accordance with the rules established by the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency, solicit, disclose, receive, make use of, authorize, knowingly
permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of any list of names or
information concerning persons applying for or receiving any services from the
agency, which information is directly or indirectly
derived from the records of the agency or is acquired in the performance of the
person's official duties.

No officer or
employee of the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
commission, the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities agency, or any person engaged in the administration of a
vocational rehabilitation program sponsored by or affiliated with the state
shall use or permit the use of any vocational rehabilitation program for the
purpose of interfering with an election for any partisan political purpose;
solicit or receive money for a partisan political purpose; or require any other
person to contribute any service or money for a partisan political purpose.
Whoever violates this section shall be removed from the officer's or
employee's office or employment.

The members of the
consumer advisory committee
appointed under section 3304.14 of the Revised Code shall receive no
compensation for their services except their actual and necessary traveling and
other expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, which
shall first be approved by the executive
director of the opportunities for Ohioans with
disabilities agency.

All vocational
rehabilitation services made available under sections 3304.11 to 3304.27 of the Revised Code, are made
available subject to amendment or repeal of those
sections , and no
person with a disability shall have any claim by
reason of the
person's vocational rehabilitation being affected in any way by
such an amendment or repeal.

(A)
"Suitable vending facility" means automatic vending machines, cafeterias, snack
bars, cart service shelters, counters, and other appropriate auxiliary food
service equipment determined to be necessary by the bureau of services for the
visually impaired for the automatic or manual dispensing of foods, beverages,
and other such commodities for sale by persons, no fewer than one-half of whom
are blind, under the supervision of a licensed blind vendor or an employee of
the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency.

(1)
Vision
twenty/two hundred or less in the better eye with proper correction;

(2)
Field defect in the better eye with proper correction
that
contracts the peripheral field so that the diameter of the visual field
subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees.

(C)
"Governmental property" means any real property, building, or facility owned,
leased, or rented by the state or any board, commission, department, division,
or other unit or agency thereof, but does not include any institution under the
management of the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to
section 5120.05 of the Revised Code, or under the management of the department
of youth services created pursuant to section 5139.01 of the Revised
Code.

Every person in charge of
governmental property to be substantially renovated or who is responsible for
the acquisition, lease, or rental of such property shall consult with the
director of the bureau of services for the visually impaired prior to such
renovation, acquisition, lease, or rental to determine if sufficient numbers of
persons will be using such property to support a suitable vending facility. If
the director determines that such property would be a satisfactory site for a
suitable vending facility, provision shall be made for electrical outlets,
plumbing fixtures, and other requirements for the installation and operation of
a suitable vending facility. In the case of a state university,
medical university , technical college, state
community college, community college, university branch district, or
state-affiliated college or university, the decision to establish a suitable
vending facility shall be made jointly by the director of services for the
visually impaired and proper administrative authorities of the state or
state-affiliated college or university.

The bureau shall provide
each suitable vending facility with equipment and an adequate initial stock of
suitable articles to be vended. An inventory shall be made of each suitable
vending facility at least once every six months. Each blind licensee may make
the blind
licensee's own inventory on forms prescribed by the bureau, provided that
the bureau shall retain the right to make its own inventory at any mutually
agreeable time. Each blind licensee may employ and discharge personnel required
to operate the blind licensee's vending facility, but employment
preference shall be given to blind persons capable of discharging the required
duties, and at all times at least one-half of the employees shall be
blind.

Licenses issued by the bureau of services for the visually
impaired under section
3304.29 of the Revised Code shall
be in effect until suspended or revoked. The bureau may deny, revoke, or
suspend a license or otherwise discipline a licensee upon proof that the person
is guilty of fraud or deceit in procuring or attempting to procure a license,
is guilty of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, is addicted to the use of
habit-forming drugs or alcohol, or is mentally incompetent. Such license may
also be denied, revoked, or suspended on proof of violation by the applicant or
licensee of the rules established by the bureau for the operation of vending
facilities by the blind or if a licensee fails to maintain a vending facility
as a suitable vending facility. Any blind person who has had his license
suspended or revoked or his application denied by the bureau may reapply for a
license and may be reinstated or be granted a license by the bureau upon
presentation of satisfactory evidence that there is no longer cause for such
suspension, revocation, or denial. Before the bureau may revoke, deny, or
suspend a license, or otherwise discipline a licensee, written charges must be
filed by the director of the bureau and a hearing shall be held as provided in
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

If a dispute concerning the establishment of a suitable vending
facility arises or if the bureau of services for the visually impaired
determines that a department, agency, or governmental unit in control of
governmental property has not complied with sections
3304.29 to
3304.34 of the Revised Code, an
administrative hearing shall be held. The hearing shall be conducted by a
board, which shall consist of one person designated by the director of the
bureau who shall serve as chairman, one person designated by the head of the
agency, department, or unit adversely affected, and a third person selected by
mutual agreement of the two parties. If a third person cannot be mutually
agreed on by the two parties, such person shall be designated by the governor.
The board's adjudication of the dispute shall be conducted in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, and any order issued by the board shall be
binding on both parties. An order issued by a board constituted under this
section may be appealed in accordance with the procedure specified in section
119.12 of the Revised Code.

No private contract or concession to operate a vending facility
on governmental property shall be granted unless the bureau of services for the
visually impaired has determined that such facility is not a satisfactory site
for a suitable vending facility operated by a blind licensee. Nothing in
sections 3304.29 to
3304.34 of the Revised Code shall
be construed to impair any valid contract existing prior to August 19, 1976, or
to preclude the renegotiation of such contract on the same terms and with the
same parties. The bureau of services for the visually impaired shall maintain
adequate records to insure that vending facilities operated by blind licensees
are suitable vending facilities.

Vending facilities on federal property shall be licensed in
accordance with the "Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act," 89 Stat. 2-8 (1974),
20 U.S.C.
107, as amended. In accordance with the
requirements of that act, the bureau of services for the visually impaired
shall conduct biennial elections of the Ohio vendors representative committee,
which shall be fully representative of all blind licensees issued licenses
under this chapter, and shall perform the functions assigned to the Ohio
vendors representative committee under the "Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand
Act," as amended. The number of members and terms of office of the Ohio vendors
representative committee shall be determined by the bureau of services for the
visually impaired. The director of the bureau shall meet with the committee
semiannually, and special meetings may be called upon written request of the
majority of the members of such committee or upon written request of the
director of the bureau. Such special meetings shall convene within fifteen days
of making such request. Committee members shall be paid their actual and
necessary expenses for attendance at regular semiannual meetings, but shall
receive no reimbursement for expenses incurred attending special meetings.

No funds derived from the federal government or from blind
licensees under the "Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act," 89 Stat. 2-8 (1974),
20 U.S.C.
107, as amended, and no interest or other
income generated by state investment of those funds shall be spent for purposes
other than those set forth in that act.

The
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency shall establish and administer a program for the use of funds
appropriated for that purpose to provide personal care assistance to enable
eligible severely physically disabled persons to live independently or work,
shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as
necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, and shall apply to the
controlling board for the release of the funds.

On receipt of a notice pursuant to section
3123.43 of the Revised Code, the
bureau of services for the visually impaired shall comply with sections
3123.41 to
3123.50 of the Revised Code and
any applicable rules adopted under section
3123.63 of the Revised Code with
respect to a license issued pursuant to this chapter.

The Ohio independent living council established and appointed
by the governor under the authority of section
107.18 of the Revised Code and
pursuant to the "Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992," 106 Stat. 4344,
29 U.S.C.A.
796d, shall appoint an executive director to
serve at the pleasure of the council and shall fix his compensation. The
executive director shall not be considered a public employee for purposes of
Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. The council may delegate to the executive
director the authority to appoint, remove, and discipline, without regard to
sex, race, creed, color, age, or national origin, such other professional,
administrative, and clerical staff members as are necessary to carry out the
functions and duties of the council.